Portable electric light.



La@ 7a for. f

` l EUBEET.- EOET'ABLE ELECTRIC LIGHT."

f AIPLIUATION FILED HAY 19l 1905.

No. 818,449.v

gm/W5@ CONRAD HUBERT, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

PORTABLE ELECTRIC LIGHT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patenten Apru 24, 1906. p

' Application filed May 19, 1905. Serial No. 261,156.

To @ZZ v.whom t may conc-ern:

I Be it known that I, CONRAD HUBERT, a' citizen of the United States,residing-in the 'borough of Manhattan) city of New York, in

the county lof New York and State of New York, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Portable Electric Lights, of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had therein to theaccompanyingwdrawings, forming a part thereof.

y 'invention relates to portable electric lights, and particularly thoseof small dimensions and'convenient shape to adapt them to be carried i nthe pocket of the user.

My invention has for its objects simplicit and compactness ofconstruction, non-liab ity to accidental closure of circuit andconsequent exhaustion of battery, durability, ease and reliabilityofoperation, and ready change from acondition wherein .light isobtainable only so lon as the circuit-closing device is held .closed bythe o erator to a condition in which the circuit wil be maintained inclosed condition and the light maintained without abutment.

effort on the part of the operator.

In portable electric lights of this class the amount of battery-powerwhich can be obtained in an appliance of such small dimensions isnecessarily not great, and accidental or unnecessary closures would toospeedily eXhaust the'battery. It is therefore desirable thatallcircuit-closing means should be effectually shielded. It is alsodesirable'that the operation of closing the circuit and therebyyobtaining the light should be readily and easily erformed and that whenthe light is desired) for momentary or short eriods the circuit-closershould automatica] y open the Grcuitand that when the light is desiredfor lono'er periods the circuit may be kept closed i without effort onthe part of the user.4

The improved means embodying my invention enable the user to force thecircuitcloser into closed-circuit condition by coperation of apush-button and a fixed abutment on the casing. Means are providedwhereby the push-button is normally held in a position such that it isoperative in the usual manner and permits the circuit-closer toautomatically return from closed-circuit to o en-circuit condition, butmay also be forcibly moved from this normal position to force thecircuit-closer into closed-circuit condition by wedging between it andthe fixed My invention also includes improvements consisting of ahelical spring Z.

in the construction and attachment ofthe lamp socket and lens. l

I will now describe the portable electric light illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and embodying my invention and will thereafterpoint out my invention in claims.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the portable light, partly in section.Fig. 2 is a side elevation looking toward the narrow side of the devicewith the circuitcloser adjusted for momentary closure and automaticopenin Fig. 3 is a similar view, partly in section, wit thecircuit-closer locked in closed position. Fig. 4 is an underneath lanview of the u per cover of the device etached to show t e iitting of thelamp-socket in the upper cover. Fig. 5 is a sectional view of thedevice, taken in a plane indicated by the line 5 5 in Fig, l, thebattery not being shown in section. Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional viewof the contact device in its open-circuit position andautomatically-openin condition. Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectiona view ofthe contact devicev in its locked closed-circuit position.

-The casing a, is isha ed to form a thin flat package without an u arcorners or pro'tuberances, so as to be we l adapted to be carried in thepocket ofthe user. The body ofthe casing 'is made of' metal orconductive material, and lthe casing is wide at the flat sides andsemicylindrical at v.the thin sides, so as to follow Within the casingand consists of a miniature incandescent electric'lamp e, which isthreaded intoa metallic socket c and which carries at its lower end ayielding contact device This lampsocket k is shaped like an inverteddome and is fitted to the upper cover b by means of lateral projectionsshown as formed by a flange m of generally circular outline withdiametrically opposite portions flattened so as to be of smallerdiameter, so that the portions of smaller diameter freely enter thecover and upon turning the lamp-socket through about a quarter of a'turn the circular portions of the flange enter counterpart recesses nand firmly lock the lamp-socket in position. The

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I inner wall of the socket is provided with a reecting-surface, and as aresult of its concave shape produces in common with the directing actionof the lens o a powerful and effective hght. This lens is fixedly set inthe casmg, being seated in a rim on the outer face of the cover and heldagainst the rim by the flange of the combined light-refiector and:lamp-socket lc, which bears tightly against the base of the lens.Access may be had to the lens and the lamp also for removal orreplacement by removing the upper cover b fromthe casing and'thenremoving the lampsocket k from the upper cover.

Upon the inner face of one of the thin sides o f the casing a tworounded spacing projections p arfprovided. These bear against theadjacent side of the battery-package and not onlyprevent any freemovement of the batterry-package and the consequent short-circuiting ofthe uncovered portions'of the latter with the casing, but also assure aspace between the battery-package and the casing "or the -movement ofthe contact-spring q .25

against the Zinc terminal of the battery-cell. A circuit-closer isprovided adapted for manual operation and located at one of the sides ofthe casing, so that 'it is in convenient.

position to be operated'- by the thumb or one of the fingers of theuser. l The circuit-closer is resilient and is normally incircuit-opening position. It comprises a push-button 1 and a springcontact-finger g, the' contact-iinger being shown as secured at itslower end by a rivet to the inner' face of the thin side of the casing aand the push-button being externally located within a shield s, thisshield being shown as of nearly elliptical form and mounted upon theouter surface of the casing and secured thereto by two side iiaps t.This shield so surrounds and protects the pushbutton as to obviate theliability of accidental closing of the circuit when the device iscarried in the pocket of the user. The pushbutton r is shown as made upof a circular head r, a circular base r2, with two intermediate portionsu and v, the front intermediate 'portion a being of smaller diameterthan the head and the rear intermediate portion o being of largerdiameter than the portion a, so that an annular grooveis formed at u,and the rear intermediate portion c being of smaller.

diameter than the base r2, so that it moves freely through'the uppercircular part of an opening a: in the shield, while the base forms ashoulder of larger diameter than the orifice at, eectually preventingremoval exteriorly of the push-button.

The push-button is not fastened to the contact-finger but these partsare provided with an engaging projection and depression which tend tohold the push-button in a predetermined position relatively to thecontactspring, such position being that in which the push-button isretained in and automatically sienes returned to open-circuit condition.As shown, a rounded projection fw is formed at the rear face of the baseof the push-button and the contact-spring has a registering perfora-.tion to receive this projection, this construction being exceedinglysimple and reliable.

To providefor maintaining a closed-circuit condition, the opening x inthe shield has, in addition to the circular upper part above mentioned,an elongated lower part or slot of such width as to receive the annulargroove u of the push-button, so that the push-button may be pressedslightly inward from the normal position (shown in Fig. 6) to registerthe groove uwith the outer wall of the shield and may then be presseddownward in the slot of the shield with the groove u engaged by thewalls of the shield, the rear projection w of the bush-button riding outof the perforation of the contact-spring and the push-button bearingagainst the contact-spring and forcing it inward as the push-button ismoved downward until the contact-spring bears against the conductivewall of the adjacent battery-cell, this being its circuit-closingposition. With the parts in this position the resilienceof thecontact-spring causes' an outward pressure on the push-button, whichdevelops suflicient friction to hold the parts in this position, and theparts are, in

fact, locked in closed-circuit condition. rl`his locked closed-circuitcondition is shown in Figs. 3 and 7. it will be maintained until thepush-button is moved upward by the operator. As the pusli-button attainsits norr mal position relatively to the contact-spring therounded rearprojection w will enter the perforation in the contact-spring and thecontact-spring will force the push-button outward and all parts willattain the normal open-circuit position (shown in Figs. 2 and 6,) thegroove u being-held out of register with the slot in the shield. Forordinary pushbutton use it is only necessary to press the push-button inand hold it in so long as the light is required. The engagement of thepush-button and contact'- spring prevents shifting of the parts fromnormal positions,

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this being also aided by normal alinement of the larger intermediate art.v of the pushbutton with the .wall o' the socket, whichA IIS venienceof manufacture and sale of the bat 13o l .lhe electric conductive meansfor the cir-.

. cuit of the battery and lamp are partlypro- -`v1dedby the casing andinclude the normally, open circuit-closer, comprising the push-button 1'and contact-'spring g previously described. rlhe lamp e has one of itsterminals l in direct contact with the carbon terl mina'l of the middlecell g of the battery. The

several cells ,of the battery are connected in series in usual manner',the carbon terminal of the middle cellg and the zinc casing oftheright-hand outer cellf being the end terminals o the battery. Thezinc'casing of the"cell f is included4 in the lamp-circuit by directcontact of the' spring or circuit-closer g with the conductive casing a,the. insulated Wra ping being removed in proximity to the point ofcontact. The current passes to the cover I,

Hows through the combined reiector andlamp-socket k, and enters'the lampe.

It -is obvious that 'various modifications may. be made in theconstruction shown and above particularl described Within the principleand scope o my invention.

- What l claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A portable electric light comprising a casing and a battery therein,an electric lamp carried by the casing, and circuit-completing means-from the battery to the lamp including a push-button and a contact, thecasing having afiXed abutment for tlie'pushbutton and the push-buttonbeing movable from a position in Which the contact is lactuatable bythepush-button to close the circuit and is permitted to automaticallyreturn from circuit-closing to circuit-opening condition, to a positionin which the push-button is coperative -With* the fixed abutment toforce the contact intocircuit-closing condition. v l l 2. A portableelectric light comprising a casing and a battery therein, an electriclamp carried by the casing, and circuit-completing means from thebattery to the lamp including a push-button and a contact-linger, thecontact-finger being Within the casing andarranged to abut against abattery-terminal, the casing having an abutment for the pushbutton andthe push-button being movable from a position in which thecontact-finger is actuatable by the push-button to close the circuit andis permitted to automatically return from circuit-closing tocircuit-opening condition, to a position in which the pushbutton iscooperative with the abutment. to force-the contact-finger intocircuit-closing condition.

3. A portable electric light comprising a casing and a battery therein,an electricA lamp carried by the-casing, and circuit-completing meansfrom the battery to the lamp including a push-button and acontact-finger, the push-button and the contact-ringer having an enaging' projection and depression to norma ly hold the push-button in aposition in which the .contact-finger is actuatable by the push-buttonto close the circuit and is permitted to automatically return fromcircuit-closing tc circuit-opening. position, andv the push-button andcasing having a sliding connection Wlierebythe push-button may be -movedlrelatively to the contact-ringer to abut against the casing and forcethe contactfinger into circuit-closing position.

4;, The combination of a casing and a battery therein, vand means orclosing the circuit of the battery, including a push-button andacontact-finger, the casing being provided Withan opening in part largeenough' vfor vthe battery including a push-button and acontact-iingerfthe push-button having a peripheral groove and the casingbeing provided With an opening in part large enough to permit `'-Lhe`usb-button to be moved in- Ward to thi ist .he contact-finger intocircuitclosing position With freedom to automatically return from suchcircuit-closing position, and the opening in the casing being in partnarrower to engage the peripheral groove of the push-button and permitthe push-button to be moved to Wedge the contact-iinger intocircuit-closing position. 'i

6. The combination of a casing and a battery therein, andcircuit-completing means `for the battery including a push-button and acontact-finger, the push-button and the contact-finger having anengaging projection and depression and the push-button having aperipheral groove therein, the casing being provided with an opening inpart large enough to permit the push-button to be moved in Ward tothrust the contact-finger into circuitclosing position with freedom toautomatically return Jfrom such circuit-closing position, the en agingprojection-and depression being located so as to normally hold thepush-button in suchposition of automatic return, and the opening in thecasing beingin part narroWer to engage the peripheral groove of thepush-button and pernlit the push-button to be moved .to Wedge thenontact-iinger into circuit-closing position. 7. The combination of acasing, a shield permit the push-button to ybe moved in- IIO thereon, abattery carried by thercasing, and i means for closin the circuit of thebattery including a pushutton and a contact-inger, the shield beingprovided with an opening in part large enough to permit the push-buttonto be moved inward to thrust the contactiinger to the circuit-closingposition with freedom to automatically return from such circuit-closingposition and the opening in the shield being in part adapted to engagethe push-button and permit the push-button to Wedge the contact-iingerinto circuit-closing position,

' 8. The combination of a casing, a shield thereon, a battery carried bythe casing, and means for closing the circuit oi the battery including apush-button and a contact-finger,`

the push-button and contact-iinger having an engaging projection anddepression and the shield having an opening therein in-part large enoughto permit the push-button to be moved inward toA thrust theco1itactiinger into circuit-closing position with freedom to automatically return from such circuit-closing position, the engaging projectionand depression normally such position of automatic return, and theopening in the shield being in part adapted to engage the push-buttonand permit the push-button to be moved to Wedge the contact-finger intocircuit-closing position.

'9. The combination of a casing, a shield thereon, a battery carried bythe lcasing, and means for closing the circuit of the battery includinga push-button and a contact-finger,

thev contact-finger being arranged so as to closethe circuit by contactWith the battery,

holding the push-button in,

'acl` projections extending `inward from s t e4 wa l 'of the casingabove and belowy the' the conf turn from circuit-closing tocircuit-opening position and the push-button being movable relatively tothe contact-finger to lock the .contact-finger in circuit-closingcondition.

10. A portable electric light comprising-a casing anda battery therein,a cover for the casing having recesses therein, an electric lamp, alamp-socket having opposite lateral projections adapted to be engaged inthe recesses of the cover by part rotative movenient of the lamp-socketrelatively tothe cover,.and means for completing and closing the circuitfrom the batter to the lamp.

11. A portable electric ight comprising a casing and a battery therein,a `cover for the casing having recessed portions therein, an electriclamp, a lamp-socket having'opposite lateral projections adapted to beengaged in the recesses of the.`cover by part rotative movement of thelamp-socket relativel to the cover, a lens fitted in the cover and eldin place by the lamp-socket, and -means for completing and closing thecircuit from the battery to the lamp.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of twoWitnesses.

CONRAD HUBERT.

Witnesses HENRY BARNES, HER-MAN DANEMAN.

